Equestrian Inspiration

For horses can educate through first hand, subjective, personal experiences, unlike human tutors, teachers, and professors can ever do. Horses can build character, not merely urge one to improve on it. Horses forge the mind, the character, the emotions and inner lives of humans. People can talk to one another about all these things and remain distanced and lonesome . In partnership with a horse, one is seldom lacking for thought, emotion and inspiration. One is always attended by a great companion.
~Charles de Kunffy

You may have been hacking out perfectly confidently all your life, but you've had a recent misadventure that left you injured physically, emotionally or both.

Or you may be an accomplished rider but you cannot handle the stress and fear of failing when competing. Nothing surprising there, we are all familiar with that sickening feeling.

Or maybe you are a beginner, and the whole size-of-the-horse, distance-to-the-ground-thing is causing you panic-attacks.

Or maybe your age or health leaves you doubting your riding abilities. You may have become afraid to handle your horse at all.

I know exactly how you feel; nervous, worried, terrified, frustrated, helpless, useless and depressed. Been there, done that.

It took me weeks to get back in the saddle after a nasty fall and months to get my confidence back.

Writing a personal Mission Statement gave me the momentum and motivation to pick myself back up again and start to look for a solution that would get me back in the saddle.

One thing I have learnt is definitely non-negotiable: Whatever it is that you want to achieve with your horse and your riding, there is one fundamental concept you have to accept in all its complexity: you have to exercise you mind with as much diligence as you exercise your body.

Horsemanship is not merely a matter of bodily skills, but is based on scholarship and, therefore, is a matter of the mind and intellect. Good horsemanship is based on proper character development and, therefore, is also a matter of mentality and spirit. Without the correct attitudes and insights, there cannot be the right sport.
~Charles de Knuffy

You get mentally fit in exactly the same way as you get fit physically. By exercising your mental muscles. Daily, preferably. Otherwise as often as you can find time. The fitter you are mentally, the more spectacular the increase in your confidence.

If you don't take care of physical fitness, it's more likely you'll develop physical illness and disease. Similarly, if you don't take care of your mental fitness you'll lose your mental capacity as you get older, or you'll experience age-related mental decline earlier in life. Both physical and mental fitness can help your body and brain work effectively together for longer.

The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled. ~Andrew Carnegie

There is a vast variety of mental exercises at the thinking rider's disposal: mental rehearsal, anchoring, resourceful state induction, eradicating limiting beliefs with affirmations, reframing, perceptual positioning and many more%u2026at least one to suit every rider, though most riders prefer to use their own combination of techniques.

Start by creating a Personal Equestrian Mission Statement. It really will be, without question, one of the most powerful and significant things you will ever do to take control of you life and your riding...

...and although there are many Personal Mission Statement courses accessible online there is only one place where you can find one created especially and exclusively for equestrians: at Equestrian Life Coaching

Because I consider this such an essential mental exercise for every passionate, thinking equestrian, I offer you the course absolutely FREE of charge.

Subscribe to the four day equestrian e-course Your Passion, your Mission, and your Purpose NOW, simply by filling in the form on the webpage at ELC.

For horses can educate through first hand, subjective, personal experiences, unlike human tutors, teachers, and professors can ever do. Horses can build character, not merely urge one to improve on it. Horses forge the mind, the character, the emotions and inner lives of humans. People can talk to one another about all these things and remain distanced and lonesome. In partnership with a horse, one is seldom lacking for thought, emotion and inspiration. One is always attended by a great companion.
~Charles de Knuffy

Do you have a compelling reason to get out of bed each day and work consistently toward a clear objective?

Knowing exactly what you want from life, and specifically where you want to fit horses and riding into the overall scheme - is crucially important.

It's the ONLY way you'll be able to get the maximum enjoyment from horseback riding or horse-ownership.

A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, and beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence. ~Pam Brown

Do you have a mission in life? Do you know what you are here for, what is the purpose of your life?

If not, you may be lost in an infernal cycle of inertia. Inertia and stagnation sets in when your life lacks forward motion due to a lack of motivation Creating a personal mission can motivate you to climb out of the rut of mediocrity and blast stagnation out of your life permanently.

Are you passionate about horses and riding?

Then creating a Personal Equestrian Mission Statement will be, without question, one of the most powerful and significant things you will ever do to take control of you life and your riding.

In order to define your life's purpose and write a personal mission statement, you first have to keep in mind that everything in life has a payoff - both good and bad. Even bad habits like smoking and overeating provide some kind of reward, or people wouldn't keep doing them!

You cannot be motivated to change anything about your life until you have a compelling reason to do so - and that is where your personal mission comes in. Your mission has to be a reason so STRONG and so IMPORTANT that you cannot deny it.

You have to know what your core values are because they will determine your priorities, your actions, your inter-actions...your values are the keys to living a happy, fulfilling life.

The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire. ~Sharon Ralls Lemon

Steven Covey (in First Things First) said that to developing a mission statement is "connecting with your own unique purpose and the profound satisfaction that comes from fulfilling it."

Your Personal Equestrian Mission Statement should answer three fundamental questions:

1. What is my life about (Purpose)?
2. What do I stand for (Values)?
3. What actions will I take to manifest my Purpose and my Values?

Stephen Covey also said that 'an empowering Mission Statement

Represents the deepest and best within you. It comes out of a solid connection with your deep inner life.

Is the fulfilment of your own unique gifts. It's the expression of your unique capacity to contribute.

Addresses and integrates the four fundamental human needs and capacities in the physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions.

Deals with all the significant roles in your life. It represents a lifetime balance of personal, family, work, and community-whatever roles you feel are yours to fill.

Is written to inspire you-not to impress anyone else. It communicates to you and inspires you on the most essential level.

In it you will identify the most important roles and relationships in your life - who you want to be, what you want to do, to whom and what you want of give your life, the principles you want to anchor your life to, the legacy you want to leave.

All the goals and decisions you will make in the future will be based upon it. It's like deciding first which wall you want to lean your ladder of life against, and then beginning to climb.

It will be your compass - a strong source of guidance amid the stormy seas and pressing, pulling currents of you life." Stephen Covey, author or The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Writing a personal mission statement offers the opportunity to establish what's really important to you in your life.

Once you have your mission statement, you have to keep imprinting it on your mind daily - preferably several times a day. Keep reading it to yourself. Write about it in a journal. State your reasons for wanting it. Vow to keep moving toward it no matter what.

Make it the most powerful goal you've ever pursued, and you'll have all the motivation you need to make lasting changes.

Citizen Mane
Withering Heights
The Bridle of Frankenstein
Gentlemen Prefer Palominos
Prances with Hooves
For Whom the Belgian Toils
Rein Man
Lawrence the Arabian
Stall Wars
The Man with the Gelding Farm
The Day the Girth Stood Still
The Fall of the Horse of the Usher
Horse Blanket Bingo
Saturday Night Feeder
Gone with the Whinny
Cool Hoof Luke
Bonnie and Clydesdale

Sometimes writing a personal mission statement is just too daunting a task to attempt on you own. Rather than remain stuck in mediocrity for the rest of your life, get some professional help. One option is to enlist the services of an equestrian life coach.

Coaching helps you figure out who you are, where you are now and where you want to go from here. It helps you turn your dreams into goals. After all, a goal is only a dream with a deadline. I am passionate about helping inspired people to discover their life's purpose, realise their full potential, and make their dreams come true.

But what is life coaching?

According to the International Coaching Federation Life "Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customise their approach to individual client needs. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful. The coach's job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has."

A life coach will help you clarify your ambitions and identify the strengths you already possess within you. You will develop new empowering beliefs, create new strengths and build upon them to provide a strong foundation for a better life.

Coaching will help you set compelling and achievable goals, and provide you with clear action plans to achieve them, whilst keeping you motivated, focused and overcoming any obstacles that stand in your way.

"Part therapist, part consultant, part motivational expert, part professional organizer, part friend, part nag - the personal coach seeks to do for your life what a personal trainer does for your body." - Kim Palmer, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune

All sessions and client information is strictly confidential.

You can find out more about life coaching for horse riders at: Equestrian Life Coaching